2023-08-18 17:30:00
A recent study showed that the brains of serial entrepreneurs and managers have a noticeable difference.
As part of this work, the researchers used an innovative fMRI method. This is called resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (ferMRI). The results showed specificity at the neural level in serial entrepreneurs. This one offers advantageous cognitive attributes in the context of entrepreneurship. Details of the research have been published in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.
Entrepreneurs own cognitive flexibility
This study is the result of the work of a multidisciplinary team. More specifically, the members come from the School of Management (HEC) of the University of Liège and the University Hospital Center (CHU) of Liège. Their research revealed a greater neural relationship between two specific brain regions of serial entrepreneurs. It is right insula and anterior prefrontal cortex. This difference would partly explain why serial entrepreneurs can launch successful business projects and reproduce the same winning pattern over and over once more.
The results suggest that these two parts of the brain actively participate in the decision-making process. Thus, better connections between the two would allow serial entrepreneurs to make better choices. Which is an important skill in all situations. In entrepreneurship, the balance between exploring and exploiting opportunities is vital. So does the ability to understand when either mode is most appropriate. That is why making the right decisions is paramount to success. Researchers refer to this fluency as cognitive flexibility.
According to Frédéric Ooms, assistant professor at HEC, this difference between entrepreneurs and managers is particularly noticeable during unexpected events. Concretely, people with better cognitive flexibility will have easier to recover and bounce back. And you will agree, there are many unforeseen events in the life of an entrepreneur.
SEE ALSO: Entrepreneurs: how to succeed in online sales?
We can develop this cognitive flexibility
As its name suggests, ironMRI is different from the usual fMRI. Indeed, with the traditional technique, the managers ask the subjects to carry out different tasks. On the contrary, here the observation of the brain is done when it is ” at rest “. In fact, the researchers offered neither cognitive tasks to perform nor stimuli to the participants.
Forty volunteers participated to this study, including serial entrepreneurs and managers. They have contributed to improving the understanding of entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the researchers were able to show the potential of neuroscience in this particular setting. Especially that cognitive flexibility will be more and more useful, even on a daily basis. The rapid changes caused by artificial intelligence are proof of this.
Furthermore, Professor Frédéric Ooms believes that this specificity among serial entrepreneurs is not innate. He and his team therefore think to observe how to develop this cognitive flexibility. To do this, they will focus in particular on entrepreneurial pathways and entrepreneurial training.
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